Second approaches behind me, the gait of his boots closing the distance in a few strides.
I hum, taking a short step toward Nerian, buying time to assess my options. I don’t see a weapon on the king, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t one.
“Any favorite pieces?” I ask as Second stands beside me, sword poised.
He taps the teeth he’s fingering on his necklace. “My most prized piece! A canine from every Hunter I’ve killed over the centuries. Beautiful, isn’t it?”
CHAPTER 22
KADE
Two Hundred Years Ago — Goreon Kingdom
AS HUNTERS DIE, so does my soul.
My magic wails at me, and agony pelts, chipping away at me like an axe. The loss of our Master is a weight I don’t know how to hold.
I didn’t know it would hurt like this.
This sorrow is the worst I’ve ever felt. And an understanding flashes: The choice my father made to save his Hunters all those years ago. I don’t think I can blame him so harshly now as my losses threaten my sanity.
We need to end this before we lose anyone else.
This is no longer a mission to kill the king; we need to get out. We’ve saved hundreds from the dungeon, and Sam is in our grasp. It’s time to leave. I won’t be foolish enough to go for a glory that wastes more lives.
Brachett races up the dais toward Master Hull.
“Work your way toward the exits! We’re leaving!” I command, backing up toward Rhett and Grace to help them with Sam.
Master Hull is slumped next to the throne, eyes vacant, and Brachett hoists him onto his back while I stake through five vampires, my speed untraceable as they attempt to take me down by overwhelming me with their numbers.
Not a fucking chance.
Longton lifts Ned onto his back, his burly legs carrying Ned’s weight with ease as he rises, eyes on fire, and his magic ricocheting against mine in mourning.
Vampires will come to their senses within the hour, and I need my people close to safety. Close to daylight.
Riot fights further down the aisle, maintaining a wide berth near the antechamber doorway in a brilliant display of Hunter technique and power, his magic whirring and vibrant, his body honed, and his honor threading along his skin as he defends our pathway.
Grace and I force our way down the dais, blood running down the steps as Hunter and vampire life force blend in death for the first time since the Great Divide War. Brachett, Longton, and Rhett carry our people behind us.
My focus darts to the antechamber as I sense the magic of Hunters beyond the door pulse and respond to a vampiric presence.
Dawn breaks, the faintest light funneling in through the entrance hall beyond the antechamber, and vampires begin to come to their senses.
A breath from Riot, the queen snaps into the throne room; she snarls, but he doesn’t hesitate to attack. Her fighting skill is decent, holding him off and snapping around his blade. Riot lunges with his broadsword again, but she jumps back, avoiding him with a devilish smile.
Grace and I hurdle over bodies, trying to get to him.
Riot ditches his sword and draws two stakes from his belt in a blink, his Hunter form vibrating with his magic, throwing everything he has into this moment in a flurry of jabs. As she snaps around him, one of Riot’s stakes finally hits home into the queen’s heart, and the vampire sputters into eternal death.
He spins to find me, a prideful grin plastered wide as I gaze upon his victory and smile back.
One step closer to ending this rule, one throne down. We’ll take that win today.
Taking the head off a vampire in front of me, we continue to fight our way toward Riot as vampire numbers dwindle around us, either fleeing from us or bending over in pain their bodies wouldn’t allow them to experience in dreamwalk.
I hurtle down the aisle, almost to Riot, gripping a stake in each hand, and jab them out to my sides, taking two vampires attacking my flanks. My magic twirls, and I stab stake after stake, with Grace in my wake.
